Lille winger Nicolas Pepe is one of the hottest prospects this summer, and there is no dearth of interest in his services. French publication L’Equipe, via GFFN, has claimed that Liverpool, Arsenal and Inter Milan have lodged firm bids for the Ivorian player. There is no mention of measures of bids, but the 24-year-old is reportedly valued at £70m. Pepe scored 22 goals for Lille last season, and he was instrumental in their return to Champions League football. Arsenal are desperately looking for a wide player this summer, and they…

The football world is buzzing with the news that Neymar could be allowed to leave his summer. According to Bilel Ghazi of L’Equipe, the Parisian club are open to sell their €222 signing this summer if they receive a suitable offer. Coming up with a suitable offer for a player who has already been sold for €222m is a huge risk for any club, but it is not everyday that a player of Neymar’s quality becomes available in the market. Hence, we look at four clubs who could possibly sign…

Lorient’s young forward Alexis Claude-Maurice is a player in demand this summer transfer window. According to the report from Sky Sports, a source close to the players has claimed that clubs like Borussia Monchengladbach, RB Leipzig, Lyon, Lille, Monaco, Marseille, Sevilla, Brighton, Newcastle United, and West Ham United have registered interest in the player. However, the same report also mentions that the France U20 international favours a move to Arsenal. The North London side are also one of the sides wanting to sign him, and reportedly, the Gunners have already…

Former Chelsea and Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has been announced as the new man at the helm of French giants Marseille. Marseille finished just outside of the European positions this season, in 5th, despite impressive firepower such as Mario Balotelli (8 goals in 15), and Florian Thauvin (16 in 33). Coach Rudi Garcia announced his decision to stand down at the end of the season last week. The new man heading to the South coast may raise some eyebrows, and could not have been described as a frontrunner during Royal…

Timothy Weah has confirmed he will leave Paris Saint-Germain on loan next month in order to gain more first-team experience. The United States international broke into the PSG squad at the end of last season, but has struggled to hold down a place in the current campaign and has not been in the matchday squad since August. He has only played three games in all competitions this season and hopes a loan move will help him improve as a player and put him in a better position to be a PSG regular…

Lille winger Nicolas Pepe will only be allowed to leave the club for a fee of €80 million (£72m), according to the club’s sporting director. The 23-year-old has been linked with a number of Europe’s top clubs following an impressive start to the season that has seen him score 12 goals and provide five assists in 19 Ligue 1 appearances. Arsenal have consistently been mooted as a potential destination for the Ivorian international. “I hope he will stay this winter. We’ll do everything to keep him,” Lille sporting director Luis Campos…

Manchester United have drawn Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League, while Liverpool will face Bayern Munich and Tottenham will take on Borussia Dortmund. Manchester City were drawn against Bundesliga side Schalke, meaning three of the four English teams will face German opposition. Cristiano Ronaldo will return to the city of Madrid, with Juventus drawn against Atletico. Holders Real Madrid must overcome Dutch side Ajax, while Barcelona will take on Lyon and Roma will face FC Porto. The first legs of the last-16 ties will be split…

Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Luka Modric won the 2018 Ballon d’Or, becoming the first player other than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to claim the award in more than a decade. Modric, 33, won his third successive Champions League in May before helping Croatia to a first World Cup final. Former Brazil and AC Milan forward Kaka, in 2007, was the last player other than Messi or Ronaldo to win it. Ronaldo, who joined Juventus from Real Madrid in the summer, came second. Barcelona forward Messi finished fifth, with…

A third European club competition with the working title ‘Europa League 2’ will be introduced from 2021. One English team will enter the play-offs of the new tournament, while Scottish sides may miss out on Europa League places in a reshuffle. As part of Uefa’s 2021-2024 cycle, the Europa League will be halved in size to 32 teams with an extra play-off round between the group stage and last 16. The new tournament will be played on Thursdays alongside the Europa League. Every country’s champions will still enter the Champions…

Eden Hazard has dropped his biggest hint yet he could leave Chelsea at the end of the season. The Belgium international has 18 months remaining on his contract and has been linked with both Real Madrid and Paris St Germain and admits a summer departure from Stamford Bridge is possible. Football punters have also been backing his exit with an offer from betdaq, at odds that are surely likely to only get shorter as the summer nears. Hazard himself has played up his interest in joining Real in the past, saying…

Paris St-Germain face an injury crisis after star forwards Neymar and Kylian Mbappe went off injured playing for Brazil and France respectively in Tuesday’s round of international friendlies. Neymar played for only six minutes as Brazil edged out Cameroon in Milton Keynes as he suffered an adductor muscle injury while taking a shot and was replaced by Everton’s Richarlison. Brazil’s team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said that while a scan was needed to confirm the exact diagnosis, he did not think the injury to Neymar’s adductor muscle would keep him out…

Germany have Julian Draxler will not join their squad for their Nations League game against the Netherlands on Monday in Gelsenkirchen. Draxler had been included by coach Joachim Low but missed their friendly win over Russia as he was granted compassionate leave. Germany’s relegation from League A was confirmed on Friday as Netherlands won 2-0 at home against world champions France. Nations League relegation rounds off an atrocious year for Low’s Germany, who flopped badly at Russia 2018 with a dire World Cup title defence. Nice to have @woodyinho back in team training…

Gianluigi Buffon will start for Paris Saint-Germain against Lille and the veteran goalkeeper is set to make his Champions League debut for the club, says coach Thomas Tuchel. Buffon is yet to appear in European competition for PSG after joining the Ligue 1 champions from Juventus, with Alphonse Areola taking the gloves for all three matches in Group C. A 2-2 home draw with Napoli last time out left PSG’s Champions League qualification in the balance, Tuchel’s men having taken four points from three games to sit in third place And Tuchel…

David de Gea has said that his focus remains on his on-field performances amid uncertainty over his Manchester United future. Manager Jose Mourinho admitted that he is not optimistic that the goalkeeper will pen a new deal with the club, with his current contract due to expire at the end of the season. The club retain the right to extending De Gea’s deal automatically by another year but that has not stopped transfer links with Juventus, with reports suggesting they’ll swoop in to sign the Spaniard on a free. Despite…

Thierry Henry suffered defeat in his first match as a head coach when his 10-man Monaco side slumped to a 2-1 loss at Strasbourg on Saturday to drop into the Ligue 1 relegation zone. The principality club have failed to win in 11 games in all competitions since the opening weekend of the French top-flight season, and are only above bottom team Guingamp on goal difference. Monaco, who were runners-up to PSG last season, are now 24 points adrift of the reigning champions after they cruised to a 5-0 thrashing…

Thierry Henry has been appointed by AS Monaco as the Ligue 1 club’s new head coach, replacing Leonardo Jardim. Henry has signed a three-year contract until 2021 at the club where he began his professional career. The former Arsenal and Barcelona forward will officially begin work on Monday, the club said in a statement. Henry, who won the Ligue 1 title at the Stade Louis II in 1997, told the club’s official website: “In the first place, I thank AS Monaco for giving me the opportunity to coach the team…

French authorities are investigating whether a Champions League game involving Paris Saint-Germain and Red Star Belgrade was fixed. Both clubs have strongly denied wrongdoing after L’Équipe reported that a Red Star official was suspected of betting €5m (£4.4m) on the team losing by five goals in a match PSG won 6-1. It is understood, Uefa passed on suspicions to the French authorities after the 3 October game at the Parc des Princes in Group C, which also includes Liverpool and Napoli. France’s financial prosecutor’s office confirmed an investigation had been…

Leonardo Jardim has departed his post as Monaco manager by mutual consent after a run of 10 winless games left the French club third-bottom of Ligue 1 and bottom of their Champions League group. The 44-year-old, who joined Monaco in June 2014 and took the club to a league title in 2017, told their website: “I’m grateful and proud to have been AS Monaco coach for more than four years. I’ve always given my very best and worked with passion. We achieved some great victories together and I’ll always keep…

Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry is being considered as a replacement for manager Leonardo Jardim at Monaco. The French club are expected to sack their Portuguese boss, 44, with the team third from bottom in Ligue 1 with six points from nine games. Henry, 41, who is on the shortlist for a similar role at Aston Villa, began his professional career at Monaco and helped them win Ligue 1 in 1997. Jardim led the club to another French title in 2017, their first since 2000. The former Sporting Lisbon manager…

Kylian Mbappe is the favourite to become the first two-time winner of the Golden Boy award after being named among the 40-man shortlist by the Italian newspaper Tuttosport. Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Manchester City’s Phil Foden are on the shortlist for the award established in 2003 given to the best young player in Europe under the age of 21, with people putting their new customer betting offers on the Reds defender. Everton midfielder Tom Davies and Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot also make the 40-man shortlist. Full-back Alexander-Arnold, 19, played in Liverpool’s…

Pep Guardiola says there is no chance of Manchester City signing Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain. City had been linked with a fresh, £200 million move for Mbappe over the weekend. The Premier League side have tried to buy the World Cup winner on two previous occasions; Monaco rejected an approach in the summer of 2016 when he was still largely unknown outside of France, while in 2017 they were beaten to his signature by PSG. In the past week UEFA has reopened an investigation into PSG’s finances, and it was subsequently…

Kylian Mbappe will sit out one further league game for Paris Saint-Germainafter losing an appeal against a three-match suspension on Monday. Mbappe, 19, was handed the sanction for lashing out in retaliation at Teji Savanier during a feisty 4-2 win at Nimes on September 1. Savanier was handed a four-match ban for his role in the incident, a sanction that was also confirmed following appeals by both players, the French Football Federation (FFF) announced. Mbappe, who is being tipped to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or award in December, notably on account of…

Sadio Mane said he had urged Liverpool match-winner Roberto Firmino to declare himself fit for the Champions League opener against Paris Saint-Germain, insisting he didn’t “need his eye to play”. Firmino sustained an abrasion to the cornea in his left eye in the weekend win at Tottenham after a clash with Jan Vertonghen and did not train on Sunday or Monday. Even manager Jurgen Klopp admitted he thought the 26-year-old had “no chance” of playing when he saw him on Monday, but Mane was not prepared to give up on his teammate. “I think Bobby doesn’t…

Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino is facing further tests to determine his availability for his side’s Champions League fixture against Paris Saint Germain at Anfield on Tuesday. The Brazil attacker was forced to leave the pitch in the latter stages of Liverpool’s 2-1 win against Tottenham at Wembley on Saturday after sustaining a bizarre injury. Spurs centre-back Jan Vertonghen accidentally gouged Firmino’s left eye, as shocking images revealed soon after his departure, which left the 26-year-old hospital bound. “No idea, to be honest. He is much better,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said when asked of…

Pep Guardiola has admitted being angry with his Manchester City players despite their convincing 3-0 victory against Fulham at the Etihad Stadium. City were sloppy at times and Guardiola was unhappy at what he perceived as a slip from his side’s usual high standards. He pointed to a second-half Bernardo Silva miss to highlight the point. “The ball got passed to Bernardo and I said: ‘It is impossible that he is going to miss it because of his quality,’” the manager said. “But he missed it and I said: ‘Wow.’ “My reaction…